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Victory tells the story of a secret U.S. strategy developed in the Reagan White House in early 1982 that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union. In this explosive book, Peter Schweizer provides the riveting details of how the Reagan administration undermined the Soviet economy and its dwindling resource base while subverting the Kremlin’s hold on its global empire.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beginning in 1982, according to the author, then President Ronald Reagan and his senior advisers mapped out a systematic strategy to hasten the demise of the Soviet Union by attacking its fundamental economic and political weaknesses. In a convincing, startling expose that reads like a spy thriller, Schweizer ( Friendly Spies ) draws on interviews with Caspar Weinberger, George Shultz, KGB generals, Politburo members, Reagan advisers and others to show how the Reagan administration used covert operations, hidden diplomacy, military build-up and policy maneuvers to exacerbate the Soviet crisis in natural resources, sow political discord and weaken the Soviet empire. The Reagan strategy, as revealed here, included restricting Soviet access to Western credit and technology, covert financial and logistical support to Poland's Solidarity movement and to the Czech underground, a campaign to slash Soviet hard currency earnings by driving down the price of oil with Saudi cooperation, and substantial covert aid to the Afghan resistance fighting the Soviet invasion. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

To exhaust the Soviet economy, the Reagan administration tightened technology export controls, launched SDI, funded Afghan resisters, and induced the Saudis to keep oil prices low. The unfolding of this not-so-secret strategy, in which CIA director William Casey took a leading role, is admiringly recounted by the author of Friendly Spies (Atlantic Monthly, 1993) with "re-created" dialogs and homey details of Casey's secret meetings with friendly despots like Pakistan's General Zia and the Saudi royal family. Specifics of the CIA's technology disinformation program and of its relationships with the Vatican, Solidarity, and the Voice of America make interesting reading. Otherwise, there's little new here other than the notion that Casey's maneuvers were key to the demise of the Soviet empire, which, as Schweitzer admits, was already in deep economic trouble by the end of the Carter administration. For general readers with a taste for tabloid history-Robert Decker, Palo Alto, Cal.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Top customer reviews

This book is about how Ronald Reagan destroyed the Soviet Union. He supported the Solidarity movement in Poland with cash and supplies, along with the opposition in Afghanistan that created a guerrilla war that the Soviets could not overcome. He got the Saudis to lower the cost of oil by becoming a strategic ally of the kingdom. He cut off the flow of technology to the Soviets that caused their industrial machine to falter. Many have said that the Soviet Union just failed when it was a well organized campaign that toppled the Soviet regime. Gorbachev certainly helped in the fall of the Soviet regime. Others like Bin Laden claim that their guerrilla tactics caused this great state to fail. Ronald Reagan and his policies toppled the Soviet regime and caused the communist system to be discredited.

I loved this book and the revelations on how American policy caused the Soviet regime to be consigned to the ash heap of history. A solid read about how policies truly due matter.

Some years ago I met a former cabinet minister of the Gorbachev government in the Soviet Union. After many glasses of vodka he began to tell me that all senior members of the government at the time realized that Gorbachev and Reagan were playing a "game of poker" with "Star Wars" being the principle trump card played by the American President. Reagan kept "upping the ante" until Gorbachev realized that the Soviet Union would bankrupt itself by trying to maintain its military position. The decision to pull out of East Germany followed directly from this realization. And then came the destruction of the Soviet Union!

This book documents the broader aspects of the "game". Great detail is provided on the personalities and tactics employed by the Reagan team, especially in Afganistan, Poland and with the Arab world to manage the world oil price to assist in the bankrupting of the Soviet Union.

I couldn't put this book down until I finished it! Nor could I prevent myself from lamenting the disastrous decline of direction that has affected America since the Reagan years. The current inhabitant of the White House is not even in the same ballpark as Reagan. A pity!

This book does an incredible job of describing the Reagan Administration's efforts to end the Cold War. No book is perfect, and I'm sure there are some nits to pick, but the book accurately describes the events of the time and why President Reagan, Director Casey, and the Reagan Administration deserves credit for the fall of the "Evil Empire".

As you read about how the U.S. allowed "stolen" plans, flipped spies, technology bans, oil production, and defense buildups (real and imaginary) to push the Soviet Union over the cliff you'll find yourself thinking "Those poor bastards ..."

While Gorbachev's actions provided a gentler landing when the country fell, that was not his intention. As the country began to unravel he came to the incorrect conclusion he could maintain the empire by giving the citizens a little bit of freedom. Once citizens were given the taste, enough to verbalize discontent with the Communist government, there was no turning back.

All this being said, you may find yourself having to deal with the harsh realities of international relations, how we dealt with rather unsavory types throughout the Cold War, even during the final years. However, this is the reality of living in a world full of nations with competing, and often conflicting, interests. It give great insight into why those with a clear vision of the world they'd like to see will always be more successful in their presidency than those who view foreign policy as secondary.

This book tells the inside story of the various players, events, and circumstances which contributed to the winning of the Cold War. It is well written, inspiring, and action packed.

In addition to the expected personal heroism and efforts of Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul, the most interesting thing to me was the recounting of the swashbuckling, behind the scenes, spy work and diplomacy of William Casey, who I doubt anyone thinks much of as a fascinating hero (unless of course, they read this fun, fast-reading, book).

Victory is a terrific story which explains much of what happened in the US during the Reagan governance. The obvious is the collapse of the Soviet Union. This collapse had been predicted by Goldwater and Vandenberg for years. They saw the USSR as misguided, inefficient and "Upper Volta with missles." Reagan had the opportunity to act and did it and did it mostly in secret. His policies seeded the US technology industry and staggered the oil industry. When Adm. Poindexter, a senior defense official, was asked why they were willing to virtually wreck the economy of the oil states, Poindexter replied that there are always casualties of war. That means it was deliberate. By far the most intriguing character in the story is William Casey, head of the CIA. What a remarkable player. Everyone needs to read this book.Ed Cummins Houston, TX

Amazing insights into the deliberate and focused policies of President Reagan to force the Soviet Union into economic failure thus leading to its collapse. Not bad for a ..."dunce" as his enemies called him.

This book is true scholarship and reveals the true sophistication of Reagan's strategy for victory in the Cold War. The quotes, sources, details, and explanations are MUST READS FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO THINK THEY UNDERSTAND THE END OF THE COLD WAR.